Tag: Trade regulation
Enhancing capacity in standards-related areas for African countries
10 Nov 14 Eventtralac has been involved in a unique capacity building exercise this year. We have been asked to assist the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Germany’s National Metrology In...
Shaping a 21st Century Trade Integration Agenda for Africa
11 Aug 14 PublicationsThe SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government takes place this week (17-18 August 2014). This occasion presents an important opportunity for decisive deliberations on an integra...
Ghana – trade and trade related issues
25 Jun 14 PublicationsThe World Bank reports that Ghana is a medium sized country in west Africa, with a land area of around the same size as the United Kingdom or Uganda. The reported population i...
The Bali WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: Implications for southern Africa
25 Jun 14 PublicationsTrade facilitation referrs to the simplification, harmonisation, standardisation and modernisation of trade procedures. It encompasses policies designed to reduce trade transaction...
The Tripartite FTA: Background and overview of progress made in developing new harmonized Rules of Origin
25 Jun 14 PublicationsRules of Origin (RoO) are instruments used to determine the real source and economic origin of traded goods. Different types of RoO however serve different objectives. Non-preferen...
Export taxes in the South African context
08 May 14 PublicationsExport taxes are increasingly becoming a focus of attention in South African trade policy, and the objective of this paper is to review the trade and economic issues associate...
The Consequences of Retaliation in Southern African Trade Relations
05 Mar 14 PublicationsThere are sound reasons why African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been designed as rules-based trade arrangements. Firstly, they have to function in terms of the GATT r...
High Court of Botswana steps into void left by SADC Tribunal
05 Mar 14 PublicationsThe suspension in 2010 of the SADC Tribunal has left a serious gap in the functioning of the Organization. The integrity and operations of SADC are affected if it is impossible for...
Next IPAP version drafted, says Minister Davies
04 Mar 14 NewsTrade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies says a draft of the next iteration of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) has been prepared.
Minister Davies was addressing a post S...
COMESA Court of Justice rules that Mauritius breached the COMESA rules for the Free Trade Area
18 Sep 13 NewsCOMESA Court orders a refund of customs duties to a small company
In a landmark case, the COMESA Court of Justice has decided that the Government of Mauritius, by imposing a custo...
BRICS: South Africa’s Way Ahead?
28 Aug 13 PublicationsThe accession of South Africa into the ‘BRICS’ formation has attracted wide attention internationally. Some welcomed the step while others questioned it. A closer look at BRICS...
tralac Policy Brief: A new tribunal for SADC, but with limited jurisdiction and fewer powers
28 Aug 13 PublicationsAt the recent SADC Summit for Heads of State and Government, which took place from 17 to 18 August 2013, in Lilongwe, Malawi, an important decision on the future of the SADC Tribun...
Redirecting the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement negotiations?
26 Jun 13 PublicationsAt the first summit of the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (T-FTA) states in October 2008 in Kampala, certain decisions were adopted on how to launch and undertake the process of e...
The New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement: implications for South Africa
05 Jun 13 PublicationsTwo-way merchandise trade between New Zealand and China has increased since the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was implemented, but this is a weak test of the FTA per se as virtually a...
China and South Africa on their way to sustainable trade relations
29 May 13 PublicationsOver the last decade China has become South Africa’s single biggest trading partner. In this period foreign direct investment from China in South Africa grew as well. Although So...
Study into the cooperation of border management agencies in Zimbabwe
29 May 13 PublicationsZimbabwe is a landlocked developing country with a population of 14 million, sharing common borders with Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. Zimbabwe has 14 border posts...
A brief overview of intra-African trade in east and southern Africa: Kenya, Zambia and Uganda
22 May 13 PublicationsThe historically low levels of intra-African trade have made Africa vulnerable to external economic shocks and have fostered a dependency on the rest of the world. As a result of t...
Another chapter in the SADC Tribunal saga: South African Court confirms the Tribunal’s Costs Order
03 Oct 12 PublicationsDuring the final week of September 2012, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a judgment giving effect to aspects of an earlier ruling by the Southern African Deve...
Training for the National Trade Negotiations Team Uganda, 18-20 June 2012
22 Jun 12 Eventtralac organised a training programme for the National Trade Negotiations Team of Uganda from 18-20 June 2012. This training sought, among other things, to improve the knowledge an...
Trade capacity building: from Stockholm to Cape Town, March 2012
28 Mar 12 EventThe Swedish National Board of Trade has organized two one-year capacity building programmes during 2011-2012, in the areas of Rules of Origin and Trade Facilitation. The programmes...